Can confirm that registered Qatari foreign agents held in person meetings last year w/ both Marty Baron (exec editor of WaPo) and Dean Bacquet (exec editor of NYT). If Democracy indeed "Dies in Darkness," shouldn't we have right to know what was discussed in those meetings?

Details: The Qatar lobbyists met with Baquet in New York City on 7/26/18 for a "General discussion on Qatar" & a lawsuit involving fmr RNC official Elliot Broidy, who has been a target of Qatar for some time. The next day, the lobbyists met in person w/ WaPo's Marty Baron in D.C.

Unclear why top bosses 2 biggest US publications sat in on meetings w/ Qatar lobbyists. 2 days prior, WaPo got a "scoop" from the lobbyists, which was described as an op-ed, but ended up being written by a WaPo reporter(?). Reads like pro-Doha propaganda:washingtonpost.com/world/national…

My reporting is very specific: You sit on the board of a front org that is fully controlled by the Qatari gov't and they continue to trot you out as a spokesperson for the group. That is something you cannot deny. I never said you work directly for Qatar.

Update: CNN has removed Kayyem's ICSS (the Qatar front group) board position from her bio. It was still there as of a couple of hours ago. I have reached out to CNN for comment.

In describing the claim as a false allegation, CNN confirmed to me that Kayyem was under contract with the Qatar-controlled institution, but says she is no longer there. I didn't know she was being paid... Kayyem's bio has for many years stated her affiliation with ICSS.

As low profile FL Mayor, Andrew Gillum spoke at a 16' Qatar conference in Doha. Never discussed it publicly. All $$$ paid for, likely by Rick Smotkin, who recently registered as a Qatari lobbyist. Smotkin later donated max $ amount to Gillum campaign for Gov. Very, very sketchy.

The issue here is Gillum using a representative of a foreign state as his apparent travel agent. And in addition to letting Qatar pay for his expenses, the lobbyist, who is paid by Qatar, gives max $ to his campaign. This is how the seeds of foreign bribery scandals are planted.

Only local papers covered the Qatari conference once it was revealed through email disclosures. But the ties between Smotkin, the Qatari foreign agent, and Gillum appear to be much deeper than we were led to believe amp.tallahassee.com/amp/794165001

There is a lot of perspective missing in Ilhan Omar anti-Semitism debate. (THREAD)1. In her native Somalia, pretty much everyone has a negative view of Jews. There are no Jews in Somalia so viewpoints are established from myths, folklore, which contain anti-Semitic conspiracies

2. This is why assimilation in the United States is SO SO important. The Somali refugee community in MN is very much insulated from outside perspectives. This has led to a tremendous ISIS indoctrination and extremism problem, among other things.

3. Omar is a product of a community that has not properly assimilated. Her anti-Semitism is representative of Islamic supremacist culture, also representative of an ongoing US policy failure. She is not in any way unique. This video really hammers it home:

"In late 2016, as Trump was readying to move into the WH, Elliott Broidy...was working on a deal to gain control of what a biz partner called “billions...in oil & gas, and mining assets” in ANGOLA." h/t @Klickedy

"Broidy used his clout to hook up top Angolan gov't ofcls w/members of the US Congress & the Trump admin. It was a swampy endeavor involving old-fashioned political influence, a BH activist/realtor, & a Nigerian American businessman who had been a close friend of Michael Jackson"

"Broidy is no longer a power player wielding sway in the Republican cosmos. Early this yr, he faced a series of media stories that raised questions about his biz dealings (which includ'd ventures w/the gov'ts of SA, the UAE, Romania, & Repub of Congo) & allegd influence peddling"

Federal prosecutors have for months been using a grand jury to investigate former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe — an indication the probe into whether he misled officials exploring his role in a controversial media disclosure has intensified, ...

...two people familiar with the matter said.

The grand jury has summoned more than one witness, the people said, and the case is ongoing. The people declined to identify those who had been called to testify.

2.The @DonaldJTrumpJr meeting at Trump Tower took place at 6/9/16, on 6/9/14 @RepRohrabacher promoted showing of Magnitsky Act propaganda film to congress despite him being prohibited by @RepEdRoyce, film backed by Nekrasov, Veselnitskaya and Akhmetsin

(THREAD) Erik Prince—Trump advisor; ex-head of a murderous mercenary army; would-be head of Trump's private spy agency; would-be head of a privatized U.S. army—is a dangerous liar. He just testified under oath. This is a live reading of the transcript. Hope you'll read and share.

1/ Not only did Prince appear without counsel—though he could be charged with a crime for any lie he told—he told the House Intel Committee he had no plans to *hire* an attorney. In the situation he's in—and given who he is—that statement is actually chilling. I'll tell you why.

2/ It suggests he may expect a pardon for any misconduct; or is so confident the GOP won't make him answer any questions he doesn't want to that he sees no risk of self-incrimination; or that he's that confident in his skills as a liar; or thinks his misdeeds can't be uncovered.